


We Can Follow The Sparks, I'll Drive

by BoysAndBoysAndGirlsAndGirls



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Are you even a haikyuu fic author if you've never written poetic bullshit about Kag's eyes, Fluff and Angst, HAPPY BIRTHDAY OIKAWA YOU DUMBASS, Hope those tags caught your attention, Jealous Oikawa Tooru, Kageyama Tobio's big blue eyes, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Oikawa Tooru Likes Aliens, Oikawa Tooru's Knee Injury, Oikawa is a sci-fi author, Pining Oikawa Tooru, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:15:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25382206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoysAndBoysAndGirlsAndGirls/pseuds/BoysAndBoysAndGirlsAndGirls
Summary: Oikawa Tooru, a world famous science fiction author, finds himself in a tight spot when he can't come up with a plot for his next book. When his manager sets a deadline for a manuscript, he drags his now best friend, professional volleyball player Kageyama Tobio, on a road trip in the quest for inspiration.
Relationships: Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 22
Kudos: 226





	We Can Follow The Sparks, I'll Drive

‘It was a dark and stormy night.’, Oikawa’s screen read.

“Okay, so it was dark.”, he said, “And there were storms.”

He runs his hands through his hair, visibly frustrated and lets out a loud grunt. 

“Then, what happens? Should I unleash some aliens? I mean, I have to unleash some aliens, I’m a sci-fi author, of course there will be aliens. But how do I unleash the aliens? Should they appear once the main character gets lost in the woods?”

“No.”, a voice emerges from behind him, “You already did that in your second book, Out of the Woods.”

“Tobio-chan, I told you that you could only use the key for emergencies.”, Oikawa says, turning away from his laptop to face Kageyama.

He just drapes himself on his bed, “It is an emergency. You hadn’t texted me for eight whole hours, I was concerned.”

“I don’t text you that often.”

“You texted me that your shit was not going well yesterday.”, Kageyama counters with his eyes closed.

Oikawa squawks out, “Well, maybe if you texted me more, I wouldn’t have to text you so much.”

“Unlike you,”, he says, “I actually do my job. I had practice yesterday. My teammate saw the notification.”

He turns back to the laptop, and smashes his head on the keys, “Great, so the whole of the Japan volleyball team also thinks I’m an idiot.”

“Are you okay?”, he asks, a concerned look on his face.

Oikawa sighs, “No, not really. Kaori-chan is breathing down my neck to get another manuscript done by the end of the month. And I’m out of ideas.”

Kageyama gets up to lay a hand on his shoulder and crouches down next to him, “You’ve written some good stuff, I’m sure you’ll be able to write something.”, he lifts his head from the keyboard and turns the laptop towards him, “You’ve written a whole page, let me read it.”

“It was a dark and stormy night. Ah- je-burr- ti-ud? Okay wait you’ve written only one sentence and the rest of it is trash.”, he says, and Oikawa grunts again.

“Tobio-chan, I’m screwed. I can’t write anything and my hair is oily and my pores are too big and I feel so fat.”

Kageyama just stands there, looking at the screen and letting Oikawa lean against him. After around ten seconds of silence he says, “First let’s get you cleaned up. Why do you have a peanut in your hair?”

Oikawa laughs, “Oh that. I store them up there for later use.”

He looks at him, worry apparent on his pretty face, “Oikawa, when’s the last time you ate proper food?”

He laughs again, not bothering to answer Kageyama because both of them know what he’ll say.

“Go lie down, I’ll make something to eat.”, he nudges Oikawa lightly as gets up to plop down on the bed face-first.

He can hear Kageyama’s footsteps and laughs at how pathetic he feels.

Purple, pink and blue lights blink at rapid speeds accompanied by loud booming music around him and Oikawa thinks, not for the first time, that he wants to go home. He downs his cup of whatever drink some girl had bought him and he shoots a lazy smile at her. She giggles and bats her eyelashes at him. He’s about to head over to her, when he feels a tap on his shoulder. He turns back, and sees the last person he’d expect to see at a club.

“Oikawa-san.”, he says, and Oikawa takes in how perfect he looks. His black hair is swept to the side, and he’s wearing a navy-blue shirt, which brings out the colour of his eyes, with a black leather jacket and those are definitely skinny jeans.

“Tobio-chan. What are you doing here?”, he lamely says. 

He gestures his head to a group of people in the corner, “Hinata dragged me out. Um, all of us got into the college of our choice so we’re, uh, celebrating.”

Oikawa squints at them, and sees all of the first years of Karasuno, there’s shrimpy, glasses, freckles and the blonde manager. He nods, “Right. Okay, I’ll leave now. Have fun, Tobio-chan.”

“Actually Oikawa-san, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

He narrows his eyes at him, extremely suspicious, “And what would that be, my dear Tobio-chan?”

Kageyama takes a deep breath, as though he’s preparing himself for what he’s about to say, “I got into your college.”

Oikawa blinks at him, unsure of what to say, “Okay.”

He furrows his eyebrows, that doesn’t seem to be the answer he was expecting, “Okay?”

“Yeah, I mean, the volleyball team is good. I’m sure that’s why you applied.”

He tilts his head in a very stupidly adorable way, “Oh.”

“Listen Tobio-chan.”, he says, deciding he might as well talk to him, now that the girl seems to have left, “Whatever happened between us in middle school, if you’re scared that it’s going to happen again, I can assure you it won’t. I’ve matured. I don’t need anyone to stop me now.”

Kageyama’s eyes brighten and his lips twist up in a half smile, and if that’s not adorable, Oikawa doesn’t know what is, “Thank you, Oikawa-san.”

He nods, and just stands there awkwardly. He’s just about to leave again when Kageyama speaks up.

“How’s Iwaizumi-san?”

Oikawa looks away and clenches his fist, trying not to look too shaken up, “I wouldn’t know.”, he spits out.

He seems to realize that he asked the wrong question, and just bows before saying a polite goodbye, and turning back to his friends, while Oikawa is left staring at his back.

He’d figure out how to deal with his uselessly cute kouhai some other time when he wasn’t this intoxicated.

Oikawa feels someone poke his sides and squeals, annoyed. 

“Oikawa, get up. You should eat something.”, Kageyama softly says.

He turns to see Kageyama holding a little tray with a bowl on it, and sits up.

He hands him the bowl once he’s sitting properly, and Oikawa wonders when he’d stooped so low that Kageyama of all people had to take care him.

“Tobio-chan.”, he says, his eyes widening, “I just had a great idea.”

“Did you finally figure out what to write?”, he asks, sitting down on the chair Oikawa had been on.

“No.”, he stretches the word for a little too long, “I had an idea that will lead to me getting an idea for a book.”

“Just spit it out.”

Oikawa does a tiny jump, making sure not to spill his rice porridge, “Road trip.”

Kageyama falls off his chair, “A road trip? Travelling? Like, just you or us?”

“Yes, my idiot kouhai. The two of us go on a road trip, to find some inspiration for my book.”, he says, excitedly.

Kageyama looks like he wants to argue, but gives Oikawa a once over and just nods, “Fine.”

“Fine? That’s it?”

He sighs, “Yes. But that’s only because of how hopeless you look.”, he continues, ignoring the offended gasp from Oikawa, “But, it’s only for one week maximum, and you plan the route. And where are we going to go?”

Oikawa puts the bowl on the table and makes jazz hands, “Nowhere. We just keep driving, and eat at convenience stores, and sleep at cheap motels.”

“I’ll call my coach and ask him for a week off.”, Kageyama deadpans.

He swings an arm around his shoulder, “Tobio-chan, you’ll be so glad I decided to take you. These are going to be the best four days of your life!”

“Okay, new recruits, listen up!”, Oikawa shouts, clapping his hands, “Welcome to Chuo’s volleyball club. Here, you might make some of your best friends, or your worst enemies. Speaking of worst enemies, hi Tobio-chan!”, he says, with his fake smile on and waving his hand. Kageyama reluctantly waves back, sensing the attention of the entire room on him, “Anyway, as all of you probably know, volleyball is not just a sport. It’s our lifestyle. So, if you’re here because you just want to have fun, join the calligraphy club or something. This is not for you.”

Kageyama looks around him, confused that some people view volleyball as a hobby.

“So, on that note, shall we begin tryouts?”

The next morning at six am, Oikawa shows up at Kageyama’s doorstep with a pink duffel bag, and a smile too bright for that time of the day, “Are you ready, Tobio-chan?”

He gestures to a tiny backpack in the corner and nods. 

“Come on! Be more excited!”, he shouts, probably waking up some of his neighbors.

Kageyama just turns away from him to grab the backpack, cursing Oikawa under his breath.

“So.”, he says once he’s locked the door, “What’s the plan?”

The light of the phone illuminates Oikawa’s face, “Right now, we’re at Tokyo. We go south to Yokohama, and from there Shizuoka. That’ll take two days.”

He nods, though he’s not really listening.

“Then we’ll come back to Tokyo, which’ll take two days, and we’re done!”, he says, the excitement clear in his voice.

Kageyama nods once again, “If you don’t have an idea by the end of this, I will burn your house down.”

“Someone’s cranky in the morning, hm Tobio-chan?”

Kageyama looks up to the sky and prays for the strength to withstand Oikawa Tooru for four days.

As soon as he’s in the passenger seat, Kageyama utters a warning to Oikawa to let him sleep or he will murder him, so he decides to not turn on the radio, for now.

Loud cheering and the clinking of glasses fill the small restaurant the coach had brought them to for a celebration. Futakuchi is sitting across from Oikawa, whispering something to Kuroo, who looks surprisingly invested, even if he keeps glancing at Sawamura every now and then. Bokuto is by far the most wasted out of all of them, even though he’s barely had anything to drink, while Terushima chugs down the entire bottle, but looks unaffected. Fukiage sits to his right, staring at the glass as though it murdered his whole family and, on his left, Kageyama Tobio chugs down glass after glass, looking happier than he has ever seen him. He giggles at inappropriate jokes, sticks his tongue out at those who tease him, and looks at everyone with shining eyes, making the deep blue look even more beautiful. 

“Oikawa-san.”, he says, poking his arm repeatedly while pouting.

He sighs, “Yes, Tobio-chan?”

Kageyama looks off to the side and brushes his hair out of his eyes, “Are you mad at me?”

Oikawa widens his eyes, taken aback by the absurdity of the question, “Why would you think that?”

“Because I got to play for the second half.”

He looks so vulnerable and conflicted that Oikawa just wants to scoop him up in his arms and take him home.

“Tobio-chan. I’ve told you this before, whatever we had in middle school is over now. I’m not mad at you.”, Oikawa shuts his eyes, “I’m actually proud of you, you played really well today. You play really well every day, and you’re actually not that bad to be around, so I’m not jealous of you or anything.”

He doesn’t hear a response and he’s scared he’s broken him; so he cracks open an eye to find Kageyama’s head on the table and mouth open, looking like he fell asleep. He chuckles to himself, finding it hilarious that he just slept through the most heartfelt thing he’s ever said to him.

Oikawa continues looking at his face, forgetting that there are other people around them. He tentatively reaches out a hand to let his fingers graze Kageyama’s cheekbones. His skin is soft, just as he had expected. Oikawa knows that the feeling of his calloused fingers on his cheek must make him uncomfortable, but he can’t bring himself to move his arm away, completely enraptured by his skin, by his words, by his hair, by everything about him.

He makes an incomprehensible noise, indicating that he’s stirring back to wakefulness now. Oikawa quickly retracts back his hand, and places it behind his back.

“Oikawa?”, he mutters, his voice husky from sleep, “What were you doing?”

“I was just waking you up!”, he defends himself, “I’m filling up some gas. So, we can get something to eat at the store.”

He hums in response, fixing his hair in the side mirror, “What’s the time?”

“Around ten.”

Kageyama hums again, looking like he would rather be sleeping. 

“I’ll go get us something to eat, you can sit inside.”, Oikawa says, pitying him.

He lets out a cute noise as he stretches in agreement. He sighs and step out of the car, relieved that he escaped that situation. He makes his way into the gas station store after filling up the petrol and paying for it. He grabs some lunch sets and drops them into his shopping cart, as he buys some more snacks to bide them over, and just because he wants to. The clerk peers up at him, annoyed that she had to look up from her magazine. She mechanically bills them and quotes a price and does not so much as twitch when Oikawa gives her one of his dazzling smiles.  
He huffs while he sits back in the seat, and looks over at Tobio, who seems to be fighting sleep.

“Here.”, he says, handing him one of the lunch sets, which he thanks him for, “You can’t just go back to sleep Tobio-chan! That’s not the point of a road trip!”

Kageyama doesn’t spare him a glance as he begins eating. He had always been one to value food over people. 

Oikawa turns to his food and shoves it in, he had apparently underestimated how hungry he was. They eat in silence, mainly because Oikawa is scared that he might just murder him if he speaks.

“Have you got your idea yet?”, he asks.

“It’s not that easy Tobio-chan!”

“Is it? All your books are the same.”

“My fans don’t think that.”, he sticks his tongue out at him.

“Your fans,”, Kageyama counters, pointing his fork at him, “Only buy your books because they like you.”

“Hey! It’s not my fault I’m so handsome.”

He scoffs, “Handsome, my ass.”

“Cheeky brat!”, he shouts as he slaps his stupidly muscular arm.

“Why are you here Tobio-chan?”

Kageyama doesn’t answer, instead looking down and avoiding his eyes.

“It’s 11 pm, I’m sleepy.”, Oikawa says, leaning on the frame of the door.

“Why didn’t you come to practice?”, he asks, his blue eyes clouded with worry.

He sighs and turns away, “I wasn’t feeling well.”

“Why?”

He throws his hands in the air, “I just wasn’t, okay? Now please leave me alone.”

Kageyama seems to be having a bout of confidence as he says, “No.”

“What do you want?”, Oikawa shouts at him but that doesn’t deter him.

“I want to know what happened! You’re not okay and I thought.”, he trails off.

“You thought?”

“I thought.”, he says, his confidence worn off under Oikawa’s scrutinizing gaze, “I thought we were friends now.”

That sentence hits him right in the gut, along with the sadness in his face and voice.

Oikawa straightens up, the guilt wrecking him. After a few seconds of silence, he moves out of the doorway, gesturing at Kageyama to come inside. He complies even if he looks frightened.

“Listen.”, he says once they’re inside and he’s seated on the chair while Tobio’s on the bed, “We are friends, surprisingly enough.”

Kageyama’s expression melts into that of relief at this, and he tries his best to not find that adorable. (He Fails)

“But.”, his face falls, “Some things I can’t tell you. At least, not right now.”

He nods, looking slightly crestfallen, “Can I do anything to help maybe?”

Oikawa’s about to say no, but he decides against it; he hasn’t been able to turn him down as easily these days without feeling like he kicked a puppy, “Some milk bread could be nice.”

Kageyama brightens up and Oikawa wishes he was less in love.

He hums along to some J-Pop song on the radio as Tobio stares out of the window, one hand outside.

“That’s dangerous, you know.”, Oikawa warns him, though he doesn’t want to considering how serene he looks.

Kageyama pouts, “But there’s no one else.”

“But what if someone shows up and your hand gets chopped off?”

“That won’t happen.”, he argues, even when his gaze and arm are still outside.

“And you would know because you can see into the future.”

He turns to Oikawa, his brows furrowed, “I can’t do that.”

“I know, Tobio-chan.”, he says sighing, which is something he does a lot around him, “It’s called sarcasm.”

“Ah.”

He decides to just let him be, and turns up the volume.

Oikawa always hated hospitals. When he was a kid, he used to pretend that he wasn’t sick so that he wouldn’t need to go.

Not much has changed since then, he thinks. He still skips his doctor’s appointments, still avoids the hospital’s phone calls and still acts like he’s okay.

But right now, there’s no way he could pretend; not when his knee is swollen and bright red. He can’t blame that on allergies unfortunately.

He’s lying in the hospital bed, his eyes focused on the ceiling instead of the doctor speaking in front of him. Oikawa knows what he is going to say anyway, it’s obvious from the pity in the nurse’s gaze, the uncomfortableness in the doc’s posture, and the tears streaming down his mother’s face.

He wishes he could cry right now, show some sort of emotion but he just can’t. It feels like everything around him has stopped, and the only thing that remains is the pain in his knee.

Everyone eventually leaves the room, giving him his alone time, even though he wouldn’t have noticed if they were still here.

It’s around midnight and he should be asleep, but everything is in flux and he just wants to stay like this forever.

The door creaks open, letting the faint glow of the corridor in. He shuts his eyes, if it’s his mother she would probably be more at ease if she saw him sleeping.

He can feel the person sit next to his feet on the bed, and he knows immediately it’s not his mother.

The person places their hand on his. The hand is rough, and he can feel small cuts on it, a lot like his own, but slightly bigger. Oikawa knows that he should be worried, but the person’s presence is comforting and it’s nice to have someone just be there without saying anything. 

The silence is disrupted by a small sob from the stranger. It’s most likely a man, he thinks, judging by the voice. The small sob gives way to more and Oikawa’s suspicion about who it is grows.  
“Tooru.”, he rasps out and he immediately knows who it is.

The sobs grow louder and Oikawa hates himself for making Kageyama Tobio cry.

“Is that Oikawa Tooru?”, he hears a voice from behind him and turns around to wave to confirm that yes, he is indeed Oikawa Tooru, and yes, he is indeed at a random motel at midnight.

The two girls squeal and quickly pull out notebooks for autographs. Oikawa gestures to Kageyama to go on ahead to which he just shrugs as though he was going to do that anyway.

They prattle on about how much they loved his book and ask when his next book is coming out (“Soon”, he’d said and moved on to the next topic), and whether the tabloids were to be believed when they said that he had a girlfriend. (He’d avoided that by saying they were his girlfriends and that seemed to satisfy them.)

When he finally reached the room, it was half an hour after they’d reached and Oikawa feels sleepier than ever. It looks like Kageyama is also just as tired, judging by the way he’s sprawled out on one of the beds. He tip-toes to the bathroom, careful not to wake him up after grabbing a change of clothes, unlike his travel partner who’d passed out in the track pants and t-shirt he’d been wearing before. And Oikawa also had a beauty routine to follow because he wasn’t blessed with naturally perfect skin that has never experienced the pain of pimples.

Once he’s tucked into bed and ready to get his well-deserved beauty sleep, he hears a small voice from beside him.

“Goodnight Oikawa.”

He allows himself to smile and turns over to face Kageyama whose eyes are still closed, “Goodnight Tobio.”

It’s the twentieth of July, Oikawa notes with little interest. It’s not that big of a deal anyway, he tells himself. There’s nothing he can particularly do for it now. In high school, he’d go out with the team, play some volleyball, and then he would sleep over, and they’d watch ET together and eat milk bread, but everything has changed now. He didn’t have a team, he didn’t play volleyball, and he didn’t have his best friend. 

He hadn’t even received a text from him. One part of him said that their time zones were different, he probably wasn’t even awake yet, but the more reasonable part of him claimed that he had definitely forgotten.

His day had gone by pretty uneventfully. People had wished him, a few girls had bought him chocolates, but nothing out of the ordinary. His roommate had announced that he’d be out for the day, so maybe he could still watch ET and eat milk bread. Just not with someone. 

He stuck his key in the hole, only to find that it was already open. Extremely suspicious, he timidly pushes it open, ready to smack the person if it’s needed.

“Surprise!”, a chorus shouts and Kuroo adds a ‘bitch’ after it.

Kageyama stands in the middle holding a huge cake, with ‘Happy Birthday Oikawa’ written on it in terrible handwriting and he can tell that the boys have done this on their own, and breaks out in a huge grin.

“Did you actually think we forgot? You’re our bro!”, Bokuto says, swinging an arm over his shoulders.

“It might not look pretty, thank you for that, by the way Terushima.”, Daichi steps forward.

“I thought piping frosting would be easy! How am I supposed to know it would just squirt out everywhere?”

“But it will taste good.”, he continues.

“Hopefully.”, Futakuchi pipes in, while Fukiage says, “Most likely.”

Kuroo sticks a candle on top and pulls out a lighter as Daichi shouts, “WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET THAT LIGHTER?”

Bokuto nudges him, “Well, say something.”

Oikawa barely manages to hold back his tears, and chokes out, “Thank you.”

Kageyama steps forward with the cake and gestures for him to blow the candle out, “Make a wish.”

He closes his eyes and wishes as he blows onto the cake.

“Let them have cake!”, Kuroo shouts as he takes a piece of cake and spikes it onto Oikawa’s face.

He rubs the frosting from his eyelids and lets out a battle cry as he throws a piece onto his face in retaliation.

Terushima clutches a corner of the cake, “I always love a good cake fight.”

“You’ve been in one before?”, Bokuto asks to which he receives no response.

Sawamura is now holding Kuroo back, and hitting him on the head which just makes him smile even more.

Futakuchi and Terushima look like they might murder each other, and Bokuto chants, “Fight. Fight.”

Kageyama is using Fukiage as a human shield and crouches behind him. Fukiage, though, does not seem too pleased with this arrangement and is trying to push him in front of him.  
Oikawa takes this as his chance and pulls Kageyama behind him. He turns back, still holding his wrist, “I’ll protect you, Tobio-chan.”

He revolves back to the fight before he could see his expression.

“Wait!”, Daichi shouts, bringing everything to a standstill as they look at him, “Did anyone taste the cake?”

Oikawa brings his tongue to his lips, just like everyone and most of their faces contort into disgust.

“Who the fuck added watermelon flavouring to a chocolate cake?.”, Sawamura curses, phrasing it with a period rather than a question mark, because everyone knows that there is only one person that crazy.

Kuroo stalks over to him, with a hand full of cake. “Terushima, you dick!”, he shouts as he stuffs the cake into his mouth while the room erupts in cheers.

Kageyama is no longer behind him, but is now next to him with Oikawa’s fingers still wrapped around his wrist. He tugs at him and Oikawa looks down to face him.

“Happy Birthday Oikawa-san.”, he says, smiling softly.

He ignores the fluttering of his heart and smiles back, “Thank you Tobio-chan.”

“I just wanted you to know.”, Kageyama looks away from him, “That even if you can’t play volleyball with us, you’re still on the team.”

Oikawa could have cried right then and there but (un)luckily for him, Terushima interrupts the moment by running in between them screaming, “It wasn’t me, I swear on Sawamura’s thighs!”, while Daichi shouts, “Don’t bring me into this!” and Kuroo screeches, “Back off, bitch!”

“Yuuji-chan would never swear on Dai-chan just like that.”, Oikawa mumbles to himself.

He gasps, everything falling into place. He almost breaks his neck turning to look at Kageyama who is back by his side, “It's you!”

Kageyama bites his lip to hold himself back from laughing, “No, it’s not.”

“Why did you say no? I didn’t even say what I was accusing you of!”

He widens his eyes, knowing that he’s been caught.

“Why?”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time.”, he says, shrugging.

Oikawa takes a look at the chaos and decides that yeah, it was a good idea.

“I’m hungry.”, Kageyama says, turning to pout at Oikawa.

He looks away from the wheel for a moment, “Tobio-chan, we literally just ate breakfast.”

He quirks an eyebrow up as though he was asking him what his point is.

Oikawa sighs, and points to the back, “There’s a grocery bag behind me, just take some snacks out of it.”

Kageyama reaches for the bag looking slightly happier, food has always made him happy.

He reaches a hand into the bag, and rummages around for his soda.

He pauses in between and lets out a breathy, “What the fuck?”

Oikawa peeks over at him, confused, “What?”

“I just.”, he begins, cautiously poking his arm into the bag, “Felt something weird.”

He’s still investigating the cause when Oikawa turns back to the road, but around five seconds later, he hears a whimper from Kageyama.

When he sees him, he’s taken aback. His face is pale, while his mouth hangs open and his arm, which is still in the bag, is slightly shivering.

“Are you okay, Tobio-chan?”

Kageyama doesn’t respond, but instead uses his other hand to roll down the window, and throws the whole bag outside.

Oikawa abruptly pulls over, looking at him like he’s crazy, “What the hell did you just do?”

“There was a fucking lizard in the bag!”, he shouts, traumatized.

“Where the fuck did that come from?”, he screams back.

“How the hell am I supposed to know that?”

If anyone passed by them, they’d probably look like two lovers fighting, Oikawa thinks to himself, but quickly shakes that thought out of his head. They were just two guys who were good friends, even though one of them harbored secret feelings for the other, and were currently on a totally platonic road trip together.

Both of them stare at each other in silence for a few seconds, before Kageyama chuckles, causing Oikawa to break into laughter as well. 

While Oikawa’s laughter is loud and unapologetic, his is quiet like he’s afraid to let anyone hear it. It’s always been like that, they’re almost complete opposites of each other, which is probably why they fit together so well.

Oikawa decides to go back to driving, his face still split into a grin, muttering, “We’ll buy some more food later, and I’ll make you check for any reptiles.”

“Like hell I’ll do that.”, Kageyama grumbles and he finds himself smiling even wider.

“How dumb are you really, Tobio-chan?”, Oikawa says, as he inspects Kageyama’s report card.

“Very dumb.”, he replies, banging his head on the table repeatedly.

Oikawa sighs and pats his back, “So what do you expect me to do with this?”

“Help me.”, he says, looking at him as though it was obvious.

He stops patting him and hits him instead, “Do you seriously think I am going to do that?”

There’s no response from him.

“I have other things to do, you know.”

Kageyama looks up at him, his eyes sparkling, “Please?”

He directs his gaze somewhere else, and mutters a rejection under his breath.

“I’ll just ask Kuroo-san or Daichi-san then.”, he says, ready to get up.

Oikawa considers this for a moment. Kuroo and Sawamura seemed to have adopted Kageyama, they were always the people he went for advice to, he had also once seen Sawamura ask him if he’d eaten and when he said he didn’t, he berated him for it, and told him to come to his apartment for dinner. He’d just noticed these things, it’s not like he was pissed that Kageyama didn’t follow him around like a lost puppy anymore.

“Wait.”, he calls out just as Kageyama turns the door handle, “I’ll do it.”

He whips his neck around and does a tiny jump, before coming to sit back down next to him and all Oikawa can think is, he’s doomed isn’t he.

“Tobio-chan, wake up.”

Kageyama cracks an eye open and glares at Oikawa, “What.”

He tilts his head towards outside the window, “Look.”

He looks past him, straightening up; and Oikawa can pinpoint the exact moment Kageyama realized where they were.

His eyes widen and his mouth hangs open before he says, “We can go?”

He nods, and Kageyama is unbuckling his seatbelt and running out.

Oikawa follows after, shouting at him to slow down.

“I haven’t been to the beach in so long!”, Kageyama shouts at him, which would probably explain why he looks so happy.

He chuckles as he stares at him trying to shake some sand out of his black hair as he chases a seagull.

Luckily, the beach is almost empty, with only a few more families who don’t seem to mind Kageyama’s enthusiasm. Oikawa pulls the ends of his trousers up and slips his feet into the cold water, closing his eyes as the waves wash over his feet.

He pushes the once pleasant memories that are forcing themselves forward to the back of his mind, and attempts to focus on the fact that he’s here with one of the most important people in his life and has only two more days to come up with an idea for his next book.

Oikawa turns back once he hears a voice call his name, and waves back at him.

Maybe he doesn’t have the person he grew up with anymore, but he has someone who stayed with him through the toughest time in his life, and that makes all the difference to him right now.

Oikawa stares down at his phone, a single notification blurring Kageyama and his own face on the lock screen.

“Oikawa-san?”, he says, snapping him out from his reverie.

He swiftly brings his eyes to meet his, and plasters on a smile as he shoves the phone back in his pocket, “It’s nothing Tobio-chan.”

Kageyama looks at him suspiciously, “You’re hiding something from me again.”

“No.”, he responds, not even trying to convince him otherwise; he would just pester him until the truth came out anyway.

“Something came up on your phone.”, he continues, squinting.

Oikawa sighs, his voice adopting a more annoyed tone, “Can we not do this right here?”

Kageyama glances around him, finally noticing that they were going to class and are currently in the middle of the campus.

“Then when?”, he whines in a very un-Tobio-like way.

He hesitates before saying, “Sometime.”

“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”, he asks, his eyes drifting downward as his lips settle into a pout.

He doesn’t dignify that with a response.

“Fine, don’t tell me anything!”, Kageyama spits out at him, turning his back on him and running away from him.

Oikawa knows that he’s not a good person, but if he makes Kageyama Tobio cry one more time, he’ll walk himself straight to hell.

He chases after him, letting his bag flop behind him. It proves to be a harder task than he thought, considering this is his first time doing any proper exercise that isn’t physiotherapy since his knee gave out.

The pain courses through his body, but he ignores that in favor of looking for a certain head of inky-black hair while he zigzags though the crowd.

Kageyama slows down pretty soon, probably thinking that Oikawa wouldn’t come after him and the possibility that he doesn’t have that much trust in him leaves a bitter taste in Oikawa’s mouth.  
He stops and leans against the building, his eyes shut which is why he doesn’t see him coming before a hand grasps his upper arm.

“Promise me you won’t tell anyone.”, is all Oikawa says as they stare at each other, both panting.

Kageyama nods, the dark blue of his pupils piqued with curiosity.

The area around them is empty, everyone having gone to their classes already.

“You remember Iwa-chan, right?”

He nods again, though he doesn’t need to. It’s not like he was genuinely asking a question, he was just preparing himself for what is to come.

“Well.”, Oikawa continues, taking a deep breath, “We’re not exactly best friends anymore.”

After a few minutes of silence, Kageyama just says, “Oh.”

“Yeah.”, finally letting go of his arm, he takes a step back, “We jut drifted apart, and I kind of really hate that I let it happen.”

He continues looking at him, as Oikawa speaks.

“Like one day, after we both went to college, I realized that when I sent him a text, he would respond a few hours later, or he would just say that he’s really busy or like,”, a sob breaks through and Oikawa uses his sleeve to wipe his eyes, avoiding Kageyama’s gaze, “Or he would just send like one emoji or like a k and that pissed me off so much.”

Kageyama steps forward and threads his fingers through Oikawa’s, providing some much-needed comfort.

Oikawa waves his other hand around animatedly, “Like he called me, just now, and I thought that he wanted to talk to me, but before I could pick it up, it ended. And he sent me a message saying, sorry wrong number.”

“And I saw his profile one day, and he had so many pictures with so many people. It felt like, I was just another person to him.”, his voice shaky, he breathes in trying to steady himself.

“I used to be in every one of his pictures, now I just watch his life through pictures.”

There’s a long pause after that, filled with the sound of Oikawa’s cries that he tries desperately to muffle.

“Thank you for telling me that.”, Kageyama says, looking straight at him, “And I’m sorry that happened.”

He weakly smiles up at him, squeezing his hand.

“I want you to know that um,”, 

“Um?”

“You still have me, and I’ll be there for as long as you want.”

Oikawa looks down, his heart’s pace quickening, but luckily Kageyama looks just as flustered as him.

“And Daichi-san, and Kuroo-san, and Bokuto-san, and Terushima-san.”

He laughs at this, “Are you sure about Yuuji-chan? He’ll probably ditch us all for some rich dude.”

Kageyama chuckles as his expression turns fond, “Maybe on the outside it seems like that, but we both know he cares about us under all that.”

“Remember that time he almost punched a senior for calling me a useless pretty boy?”, Oikawa recounts, swinging their hands as they walk.

“Almost? Guess that guy’s purple eye was just makeup then.”

He laughs out loud at this, letting himself indulge in the little creases by Kageyama’s eyes as he smiles.

That day was the first time Oikawa skipped class and he didn’t regret it one bit. He could just borrow someone’s notes later, but when could he ever feel his hand in his again? Probably never. So, he’d enjoy these fleeting moments while he can.

“Don’t lie down on the bed immediately, you monster. You’ll get sand all over it.”, Oikawa shouts at him, dragging him off of his bed with his legs.

Kageyama grunts, holding on to the pillows with his life, trying to withstand him, “What do you care? You have your own bed.”

“I’m not just going to allow you to be an unhygienic rat Tobio-chan!”. He shouts with an offended gasp once he succeeds in yanking him onto the ground, “Go take a shower.”

He hisses at him, like some sort of demon baby and attempts to get back on top.

“Fine. But when you wake up all itchy, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”, Oikawa pouts and plops down on his mattress.

It sounds like he’s fallen asleep already, judging by the lack of response and how his breaths had become more even.

Oikawa tosses and turns for a while, unable to fall asleep, even though he feels absolutely exhausted.

After what feels like an hour or so, Kageyama makes an incomprehensible sound as he turns around to face Oikawa’s direction.

“Are you awake now?”, he asks, his voice soft and overcome with drowsiness.

He hums, “Never went to sleep.”

“Why?”, Kageyama asks, shifting again, “Aren’t you tired?”

“I am. I’m just thinking about things.”

“Care to elaborate?”

Oikawa turns onto his back and stares at the ceiling fan as it spins, “I have no clue what to write.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Kageyama falls silent again, still facing him and Oikawa counts the number of times the fan goes round.

At around 194 rotations, he speaks, “You will be okay, you know?”

Oikawa smiles.

“If you can’t write a book, it’s okay. You have enough money from your previous books to last you a lifetime.”

He laughs at this, whipping his neck around to look at him, but he’s turned the other way.

“Get some sleep Oikawa.”

“You too Tobio-chan.”

Oikawa stretches, causing the book on his lap to clatter to the ground. Kageyama, sitting on the other end of the couch, perks up at the noise but makes no movement. He has his tablet in his hands, swiping furiously at the screen while trying to beat Oikawa’s high score in Fruit Ninja.

He extends an arm to the ground, grunting as he picks the book back up. There’s a sense of harmony that floats in the air that wraps around the two of them.

Kageyama is humming a tune that he recognizes as that Taylor Swift song Oikawa had made him listen to him earlier that day. It makes him strangely happy that he seems to have liked that song, it feels like a little stamp of approval, like a part of him is with Kageyama.

Neither of them has spoken in a while, both of them engrossed in their own activities. But, surprisingly, the silence doesn’t feel the slightest bit uncomfortable and Oikawa realizes that he hasn’t felt this level of understanding and peace in quite a while. The scene is extremely domestic and he revels in the warmth of the situation, and hopes he spends a lot more years with Kageyama like this.

“So, we’ve completed half of our trip.”, Oikawa states, not turning away from the wheel.

He makes a sound in agreement, prompting him to continue.

“We’re going back now.”

Kageyama looks at him with a look that just says ‘Get on with it’ and Oikawa tries not to think about who that reminds him of.

“I’m just a little sad it’s almost done.”, he confesses, his eyes wandering to the wide expanse of blue above them.

He lifts up an eyebrow at him, and places his elbow on the armrest with his chin in his hand.

“Like what have I achieved during this time? I have no clue what to write!”, he lifts his hands off the wheel due to force of habit, but quickly places them back on once he realizes what he’s doing.

Kageyama sits up straight, looking concerned, “Maybe I should drive.”

“One word- bench.”, he counters, grinning at the memory.

“I was supposed to be asleep at that time! I was tired!”

Oikawa knew he was going to say that because of the million times he’s defended himself with that argument whenever anyone brought it up.

“But that’s not the point here.”, he continues, “Did you have fun?”

“Yeah, obviously.”

“Isn’t that all that matters? Plus, like I said before you’re already rich.”

Kageyama is leaning his head on the window, staring outside with wistfulness in his eyes and it takes everything in Oikawa to not fall to his knees right then and there.

“You know, Tobio-chan.”, he breaks his gaze away from him, “You’ve become way too wise these days. I think Dai-chan has been rubbing off on you too much.”

His lips quirk upwards, and he brings the blanket up to his neck and curls up in it, looking like he feels perfectly content and Oikawa knows that because he’s feeling the exact same way.

“How the hell did you manage that?”, Oikawa shouts.

Kageyama looks just as stunned as him, as they stare at the rubble, “I was sleepy and it’s dark!”

“And your first instinct was to call me? I’m honoured Tobio-chan.”

He looks away from him, and scratches the back of his neck. “Well, I called Daichi-san first, but he didn’t pick up.”

He pouts at him, and huffs, “Second choice? I can live with that.”

“I also called Kuroo-san, but he was also busy.”

“THIRD?”

“And I almost called Bokuto-san but I remembered that he has that test tomorrow so he was probably studying.”

“Anyone else, traitor?”

“And Terushima-san said he was helping Bokuto-san study.”

“What about Fuki-chan and Futaken- kun?”

“They said that they were scared.”

Oikawa almost walks away from him, “So basically, I, your wonderful and kind senpai, am the one you called last.”

Kageyama looks guilty, and he sighs.

“Tell me point by point what happened.”

“I was driving.”, he starts but Oikawa interjects with, “More like you weren’t.”

He ignores him and goes on, “And I closed my eyes for a second and the next thing I know, this bench is fallen over!”

“How the hell did you just knock off a bench without noticing?”, he shouts at him, hitting his arm.

He frowns his signature frown, “Listen, I was sleepy!”

Oikawa massages his forehead with his fingers, “Well, there’s no damage to the car, and cops don’t come by in the night.”

“What are you trying to suggest Oikawa-san?”, Kageyama asks cautiously, narrowing his eyes.

“Get in the car, and leave!”, he screams, jumping into the driving seat while he sits in the passenger seat and fastens his seatbelt.

Oikawa likes to think of himself as a pretty good driver, but beside him Kageyama is shouting at him to go faster as he tries to reverse the car.

“I have to be careful, okay tobio-chan? I don't want to crash the car like you!”

He whispers, “We’re doomed.”, before finally shutting up.

Once they’re back on the road, he does speed up. Though he doesn’t admit it, he’s just as frightened as Kageyama.

They ride in silence for the ride, but Oikawa can literally hear his heart beating fast, and he’s sure he is also feeling the same.

When they reach the dorms, he sighs and says, “They’re all going to laugh at us so much for this, aren’t they?”

Kageyama giggles, “Bokuto-san is going to be pissed that he wasn’t able to be there.”

“And Dai-chan is going to shout at us.”

“And Terushima-san is going to tell us to call him to bail us out of jail.”

Oikawa bursts out laughing at how well they know their friends and knows that this is something they’re going to remember for a while.

Oikawa scrolls through some cat photos and laughs at one of a black cat pushing a glass off a table. Next to him, Kageyama’s phone buzzes. He looks over at it, and resists the urge to check the notification. They’d stopped because he’d wanted to use the bathroom, and he had left his phone with Oikawa, which is a terrible decision really. It’s probably just his sister, or shrimpy, so he shouldn’t be so curious. Unable to resist the urge, he grabs the phone and sends a telepathic apology to him.

Miya 1- practice is so boring without you tobio-kun ;D

Oikawa stares at the screen for a while, this was far from what he was expecting. He jolts back to reality when he hears the car door opening and hurriedly places the phone back where it was.

“Hey.”, Kageyama says as he settles into his seat. He doesn’t say anything back and just gives a weak nod.

He starts the car almost immediately, wanting some background noise to fill in the silence. The space between them, which usually felt so close, was now miles apart; and the feeling in the air wasn’t one of comfort, it was awkward and strange, two things he had not associated with their relationship for a while. Oikawa knows that he’s the one at fault for this environment, but could you blame him? He’d spent so much of his time waiting, and now someone else could have him. 

And that hurt.

“I’m tired as fuck.”, Kageyama punctuates each word by banging his head on the table. Oikawa can’t even find the energy in him to tell him to mind his language.

The other students in the library don’t even spare their weird behavior a glance, everyone else probably wanting to do the same. Exam season always destroys everything in its wake.

“I’m going to fail.”, he whines, his head just on the desk now. 

Oikawa pats his head instead of saying anything, but it seems to get the message across as he sits back up and continues staring at his book.

He opens the highlighter with his teeth and glides the marker across the page that is already half neon pink. Kageyama produces a small whimper that sounds so sad, Oikawa shuts his book, pushes it aside and raises an eyebrow at him.

“I’m screwed.”, he says, while underlining something.

“Tobio-chan, you’ll be okay.”, Oikawa tries to sound reassuring. It clearly doesn’t work, because he looks even more distressed.

“I’m too dumb for this. I’m so useless, Oikawa.”

“You’re not dumb!”, he shouts at him in a hushed tone, they were still in a library, “You’re smart!”

Kageyama looks unconvinced.

“And you’re not useless! You have may uses!”

He still looks unconvinced.

Sighing, he whispers, “Listen to me, because I’m never going to say this again.”

He leans in.

“You have helped me a lot, okay? Like without you, I’d probably still be sulking over my knee, and I wouldn’t be able to function. You’re always so nice and respectful and you deal with all my bullshit. And I just really, really.”, Oikawa rambles on, but stops when he realizes what he was going to say.

Kageyama tilts his head, “Really what?”

“Really really.”, he pauses, scared, “Really think you should get back to studying.”, he finishes lamely and gives his head a small pat.

He smiles slightly at him, resting his cheek on his closed fist and Oikawa thinks, ‘Maybe some other time.’

The unspoken question lingers between them and Oikawa can tell he’s noticed too. It’s been around three hours from then, and no taunts have been shared, no jabs have been made, it’s been the type of silence which he hates, the uncomfortable type. Kageyama’s mood seems to be constantly changing; he was confused in the beginning, then sad, after which he was nervous, next angry and now, he looks like he’s in deep thought.

It scares Oikawa, this feeling that Kageyama will leave, just like him. He’s not trying to push him away, he can’t help feeling disappointed, and he knows he shouldn’t jump to conclusions and should talk to him about it, but how is he supposed to hide his feelings while finding answers?

They’re driving by a river, the moonlight shining onto the surface, giving it an ethereal glow. Under normal circumstances, he would be completely captivated by it, but finding out that the person who you’ve spent so long caring for and is also now your closest friend, might be dating someone else is pretty far from a normal circumstance.

“Wait.”, Kageyama speaks up, his voice unsure, “Stop here.”

Oikawa snaps his neck towards him, widening his eyes, “Why? I don’t think you’ll be able to find a washroom here.”

“No, that’s not why.”

“Then why?”

“Just.”, he looks worried, though he shouldn’t be, Oikawa is going to stop regardless, “Trust me, please?”

He pulls over to the side and Kageyama steps out as soon as it’s come to a stop.

He follows him out, and leans against the car as he stares at the scene in front of them. 

“Are you okay?”, he asks, not meeting his gaze.

“No, I don’t think so.”, Oikawa replies, staring right at him. He doesn’t feel like hiding anymore, even though he knows there’s so much at risk, and Kageyama has never given him any sign that he returns his feelings. There’s something about the way the stars shine above them and how the night sky looks so much like his irises that makes him feel a little bit courageous, and that little bit might just be enough.

Kageyama looks surprised by the answer, he must not have expected him to be so honest, “Why?”

As courageous as he’s feeling, Oikawa still needs a few seconds to collect his thoughts.

“Miya Atsumu.”, is all he says after a minute of deliberation and immediately wishes he could take it back.

Looking confused, he asks, “What about him?”

“Are you two,”, he breathes in, “A thing?”

He squints at him and bites his lip, “Why would that matter?”

“Just answer the question!”, he flings his arms around and tears his eyes from him.

“I just don’t see why it matters!”, Kageyama shouts back at him, causing the serenity of the place to break into pieces.

“Please, please tell me.”, his voice is reduced to a whimper as he begs.

His eyes soften, “No, not at all.”

Oikawa lets out a relieved sigh, even though he knows the worst is yet to come.

“Will you tell me why you wanted to know?”

He pushes his hair out of his face, “I just saw the text he sent you when you were in the washroom. And I got scared that I’d lost.”

“Lost what?”

“You.”

Kageyama freezes in place as soon as he says this.

Oikawa always thought that when he’d finally tell him, the feeling would be relieving but it was different. It felt more like he was letting him in on a secret that he knows he shouldn’t be telling anyone. He felt guilty for burdening him with his feelings.

“I’m sorry.”, Oikawa apologizes immediately. 

“No!”, Kageyama responds, “Don’t apologize!’

“I really shouldn’t have told you that.”, he continues, ignoring him.

“You really should have.”

“Just forget about it.”

“I don’t want to!”, he screams, catching his attention, “Because I like you, I always have!”

It’s Oikawa’s turn to freeze as he stops in place at his abrupt confession, “You do?”

Kageyama nods.

“Good. Because um, I do too.”, he steps forward.

“That’s um, nice.”, another step.

“Yeah, I am uh, very glad.”, he wraps his arms around Kageyama’s waist.

“Yes, I feel that way, also.”, he, in return, coils his around his neck.

“So, um can I, you know?”, Oikawa moves closer.

“Please.”, he closes the distance between them.

“I can’t believe we’re done with college!”, Kuroo shouts, waving his diploma around.

“I never thought we would actually pass!”, Bokuto emerges from behind, “Look at all four of us college graduates!”

“Speak for yourself. There’s no way I would fail.”, Oikawa says, pushing Bokuto away by placing a palm on his face and flipping his hair.

Daichi sighs deeply, “At least I don’t have to supervise all of your bullshit anymore.”

“We’re literally dating.”, Kuroo pipes in, “You’re not getting rid of me anytime soon.”

“Terushima, I know you’ll be an amazing captain, so don’t worry too much.”, he says turning to him.

“Thanks, Daichi-san. I won’t let you down.”, he smiles and gives Daichi a hug.

“Kageyama, just because me and Dai won’t be around doesn’t mean you won’t take care of yourself, okay?”, Kuroo pats him on the back, tearing up.

Kageyama wipes his eyes, “Thank you for everything Kuroo-san.”

Bokuto wraps him in a tight embrace, “Don’t let Terushima get everyone into trouble, I trust you Kageyama.”

“I would never do that!”, Terushima whines, tearing them apart.

“Oikawa.”, he says, finally getting to him.

“Yes, Tobio-chan?”

“We’ll still see each other, right?”, he looks extremely unsure as he asks.

Oikawa grins and hugs him, “Of course. I’ll still be around here for a while.”

Kageyama smiles as they let go, “Goodbye Oikawa, I’ll see you around.”

Maybe he should have said no, because every second spent with him just has him falling deeper.

“We’re almost back to Tokyo now.”, Kageyama says, his voice sad.

“Yeah. This was nice.”

“We should do this more! Twice a year!”, he sits up straight, excitement lighting up all his features.

Oikawa laughs, “I think your coach might murder me if I made you take more time off.”

“But you didn’t make me, I chose to!”, he’s pouting now and Oikawa wills himself to not melt into a puddle.

“And I’m glad you chose to.”, their hands are intertwined and he brings it up to his lips and kisses his knuckles. 

Kageyama blushes and he wishes that he’d told him how much he cared for him before now that he can finally stop denying himself these little pleasures.

“Remember when I said that I hadn’t achieved anything from this trip?”, Oikawa asks, looking back at the road.

“Mm hmm.”

“Yeah, I was wrong.”, he chuckles, “I have a plot for my book and a boyfriend.”

“Really? You found something to write?”

“Yep, and I think you’ll actually like it this time!”

“I’m glad you found inspiration.”

Oikawa looks over at Kageyama’s relaxed figure and small smile and he’s glad he found him.

“So, did you like it?”, Oikawa asks, biting his lips and playing with his fingers. 

Kageyama flips through the pages of the manuscript, “So the god is me, and you’re the human girl?”

“It’s not us! Stop assuming things!”, he throws a pillow at him which he dodges.

“Okay, fine! So not-you is a human who falls in love with not-me who is a god.”, he inquires, looking weirdly smug.

Oikawa takes a deep breath, “Yeah. That’s what happens.”

He nods before he says, “I like it.”

“Really?”, he squeals, standing up in excitement.

“Yeah, and I’m sure your fans will love it too.”

When ‘Eyes Like Nighttime’ finally comes out and is loved by millions across the world, all he says is, “I told you so”, as he stands on his tip-toes and kisses him while Oikawa thanks whatever deity brought Kageyama Tobio to him.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my god, this is the longest thing I've written! I've always wanted to write a road trip fic, and i finally did it! I'm not at all proud of it and think this is trash, but i really wanted to upload something for Oikawa's birthday, and also the last chapter of the manga *cries in a corner*.  
> I really love Iwaizumi and iwaoi is my ultimate BrOTP, but i really wanted to write something where two best friends drift apart, because i know the heartbreak that comes with the person whom you grew up with not being there for you anymore. SO I'M SORRY.  
> This whole thing stems from the lyric in the title which is from Taylor Swift's song 'I think he knows' which is absolutely amazing. I just thought that line would be perfect for a road trip, AND HERE IT IS  
> Thank you so much for reading and i would love if you could take the time to comment, no pressure lol.  
> Gonna go and wait for the manga now, bye and thank you so much, i sincerely appreciate it!


End file.
